The Global Positioning System (GPS) permits absolute location to be calculated quickly and accurately. In recent years the cost of GPS tracking tags has dropped significantly. There is increasing interest in using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to track the movement of goods. For example, some shipping companies use GPS tracking tags to track the shipment of goods.
There are, however, several problems with GPS that have limited its use in consumer goods. One issue is cost. While the cost of GPU tracking tags is decreasing with time it is sill more expensive than desired, particularly when all of the associated costs to accurately track a consumer good during its entire lifetime are taken into account.
Another issue that limits the use of GPS tracking in consumer goods is associated with privacy concerns. Consumers have become increasingly aware that personal information stored on servers can sometimes be compromised through security breaches and/or unauthorized sharing. GPS tracking of consumer goods exposes consumers to the risk that third parties may hack into tracking servers and become aware of the personal habits and current location of the consumer and of the consumer's goods. Thus, consumers have legitimate concerns that the GPS tracking of consumer goods may increase their risk of being victimized by malicious third parties attempting to use purloined GPS tracking data to commit fraud or robbery. Additionally, some consumers are concerned about unwelcome attention from advertisers that might try to exploit GPS tracking data to bombard the consumer with targeted advertisements. Moreover, some consumers have a general concern that the government may misuse GPS tracking information.
Therefore in light of the above-described problems with conventional location tracking techniques a new tracking apparatus, system, and method is desired to reduce tracking costs and improve consumer privacy.